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About

Magellan Bookshop is second-hand bookshop based in centre of Belgrade, Serbia. It is probably the only second-hand bookshop selling titles in English language continuously in this part of the world. It has great selection of books, in Serbian and English, especially in areas of: biography, travel & exploration, classics fiction, literary criticism, art, religion, philosophy, psychology and history.
Opening times: Monday to Friday 12-20, Saturday 10-14.
We also buy books in English and Serbian, in good condition from selected fields.

Magellan Bookshop started in 2011 and represents a continuation of Piccadilly Books Company that was active in previous century.

Introduction

On September 20, 1519. Ferdinand Magellan set out on the first journey around the world. Until then no one had ever sailed around the planet and no one had sailed across the oceans and straits that he went through. Many people who travelled with him never returned, even he didn't complete his journey. One of Magellan's ships called „Victoria“ arrived at the same place from where they started three years earlier on the Spanish coast. The other two ships had never been found. Magellan's life is a story about bravery to step in the unknown, endless, wild. His life is an example showing that even the greatest temptations in the world cannot stop the unfaltering spirit.
Almost five hundred years later „Magellan“ bookshop starts its journey. The best books in Serbian and English language found their place on the shelves of the bookshop, waiting for their future reader. In a small space (probably the smallest bookshop in Europe) the books on travel & exploration, biographies, history, art and literary criticism have been carefully selected. There are a lot of books which will inspire even the experienced traveler to set out on a journey again. England, Russia, Africa, Australia, South America...seas and oceans, caravans, extraordinary lives, wars, battles, sailboats and steamers, trains and cars… “Magellan“ bookstore is a sanctuary for travelers, adventurers, people who are ready to explore the world around us - through space, time and friendship.

The Antiquarian Book

Rare good old book.
„Magellan“ bookshop offers books printed in the past 200 years. They were printed in Belgrade, Trieste, Vienna, Venice, London, Sydney, New York… They arrived to Belgrade after long journeys, different owners, dusty shelves, cardboard boxes, trucks and boats. It was said that books have their own destinies, just like people. That`s аbsolutely true. Our idea is to help people to change their lives, their destinies and the destinies of other people through books they want. Continuous curiosity and openness is something we believe is the most important in life.
We don’t think that an antiquarian book- scribbled, with worn covers, with someone’s initials, signature, a torn-out page- is a less valuable book. It just tells a different story. Before it came in our ownership every book lived its life, and its life can be seen on its pages. We won’t change it or underestimate it. We appreciate life of every book. We will try to understand where the book was, how it travelled, the meaning of the words written on the back, on the margin, on the covers. In our books one can find a note, newspaper clipping, a postcard, a boarding card, a paid bill, a business card …these things enrich the book, because it carries the life of its reader, its owner, the man who read it, sold it, forgot it. Is there a more eloquent history of our lives than our book that we live with, which we give away, underline, and read again, and the book which we look for long time ….
Is there a more interested unspoken dialogue than the readers of the same book at different times…Is there a greater secret than written words which someone else knows by heart, and is there a greater emotion than the one that takes us through the printed lines through the hopes of others, unknown ones….From us to others, from others to someone else – an antique book has the scent which a new book is yet to acquire (if it lasts long enough) and the feeling under our fingers which the modern paper doesn’t have.

THE FRIENDS OF “MAGELLAN” BOOKSHOP

The friends of “Magellan” bookshop are those who helped the idea which lasted for decades become tangible, real and existent. They know who they are and we would like to thank them for their time, effort and knowledge.
But, just like every circle, the circle of friends is never complete or closed.
A friend of “Magellan” bookshop can be anyone who believes that the journey through books is equal to the journey that takes us through real time, space, cultures, lands, continents, oceans and that the journey during which we explore, learn and make progress encourages us to be more opened, accessible and hard-working to ourselves and others.
Today our friends live and work in Beijing, Moscow, Herceg-Novi, Istanbul, Jerusalem, London, Kiev, Grindavik, Belgrade, Milan and Cape Town. Their faith that “Magellan” bookshop is sailing across the good sea, gives new strength to our sails every morning.
The friends of “Magellan” bookshop are people who travel with us and look forward to the journey through books, time and distant lands.

THE OFFER OF MAGELLAN BOOKSHOP

“Magellan” bookshop enables the lovers of good and rare books to get antiquarian books in Serbian and English language in the following fields:

Biographies of the most prominent people in the fields of literature, politics, history, film, travelling, art

Travel Books since the period of Marco Polo until today, from the people who travelled across the Balkans, Russian lands, African deserts, world seas and oceans. The people who first stepped into the jungles of the Amazon, who first sailed around the world, who drove their motorcycles where there are no roads, and known and unknown passengers

History, with special emphasis on the history of warfare, famous world battles, the world of intelligence agents, double agents, heroic sacrifices for the country, idea or religion

Art as an area where human spirit expresses its sophistication, creativity and strength. Painting, statuary, history of arts, architecture